


for I will hold them for you

by mondkind



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24621070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mondkind/pseuds/mondkind
Summary: Catra discovers that water can be warm.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 436





	for I will hold them for you

**Author's Note:**

> for gael ♡ inspired by this [tweet](https://twitter.com/cwtraclysm/status/1270134131561836544?s=19)

**_“_ ** _I will wash your hair at night_

_And dry it off with care_

_I will see your body bare_

_And still I will live here_ **_”_ **

**—** i will, mitski

  
  


Bright Moon is a lot of things Catra knew it would be— everything is pastel and sparkly and sweet. Sometimes she finds glitter on her clothes and on her food and she doesn’t really know how much of it comes from being in Bright Moon and how much it’s just Glimmer making fun of her. But, still— there’s something on the air she can’t quite grasp on. Maybe it’s because the war is over and people can finally exhale and live, for once, or maybe she’s just not used to being somewhere that isn’t the Fright Zone. Here, it feels like time stops, sometimes.

Adora holds out a hand for her. “Let’s go.” 

Behind her, the second moon starts to rise as the stars take place in the sky. Tiny dots that she can’t count, but her fingers almost reach for it anyway. Instead, she takes Adora’s hand and gets up, moon setting as they walk back to the castle.

Bright Moon is a lot of things, sure. She doesn’t think she will be able to call it home just yet, but, here, looking at Adora as she shots back a glance at Catra, flustered, Catra thinks she knows what home feels like.

  
  


Here’s the thing: Adora has a _waterfall_ in her room. She laughed the first time, eyed it on the second, and it wasn’t until they were joking around and she almost fell that she got ready to admit that maybe— just maybe— she wasn’t on best terms on her relationship with water. And it’s not like people didn’t know it— Glimmer sure did love jooking about it—, but everything is still fragile, and she just wanted to be able to enjoy the stupid waterfall. She didn’t want to dwell on the things that happened on Prime’s ship, even though she still didn’t know how much Adora actually saw. But that’s okay, she figured. Things were still new. Things could still _heal_ — Perfuma’s voice echoed on her head. This didn’t need to be a problem, too. 

So, that night, when she got back to Adora’s room after dinner, there was a bath waiting for her along with the scent of something she didn’t really know, but she supposed it was just Bright Moon. The water was warm and still, too different from the harsh cold water from the Horde’s showers. Before, it always felt like she was being punished for something as the water hit her back. It always hurt. She doesn’t remember if water was already something she was not really fond of before, but she remembers being thrown against the slippery tiles as she grew up, and she remembers the pain on her bones when she felt like drowning on Prime’s ship.

She didn’t enter it, in the end. Her fingers touched it, but she still couldn’t, mumbling something like this to Adora, who understood it before herself. That was okay too. The next day, Adora did the same thing.

  
  


Now, she waits in one of the couches, a book sprawled on top of her, as Adora fills the tub. The book is long forgotten as she walks to bed and strips to her underclothes, grey just like Adora’s. They didn’t have the Horde symbol, anymore, but it still felt weird to try something that didn’t feel like a uniform. 

“Catra”, calls Adora, from the bathroom, “you can come now.”

Adora is matching her, grey clothing and hair on a bun. On the first time she actually attempted to, she couldn’t bear to take off her clothes as a normal person would. There were flashes and she saw green water ahead of her and an all-white suit that wasn’t hers. Her hands moved to her neck, but there was only a ghost of a scar. So, they decided on the smartest way out— she stepped in with her clothes on and Adora did too. 

Now, it’s the second night she’s only on her underclothes. 

“Perfuma gave me some kind of oil? She says it’s good for, you know, stress and tension.”

Catra’s hand finds her elbows. “You think that could help?”

“I don’t know”, she shrugs, “but it sure smells good.” 

Adora goes in first like she always does, hands reached for Catra— as always, she takes it. The water is warm as always, and Catra thinks that she might be getting used to it. Today, Adora sits behind her, hands moving to her arms as soon as they settle. The water almost spills. “This okay?”, she asks and Catra doesn’t need to turn to see the soft look Adora’s been giving her. 

Catra looks around. Bright Moon pink, Adora’s stupid jacket on the bench near the sink, her clothing lying on a pile on Adora’s bed—their bed, she’s been trying to get herself to say it. She’s in Bright Moon, in a warm tub and her fingers find little petals. Adora’s hands are on her shoulders, calloused fingers against her skin and she’s safe. Perfuma’s been trying to get her to say it, too— she’s safe. No one can hurt her, here. No one will. 

“I’m safe”, she whispers. Adora moves her lips to her cheek.

“You’re safe”, repeats Adora, voice low. Her hands move to Catra’s arm, slowly.

Catra exhales, for once. She can feel her tension melting a little as she lets herself rest against Adora. Her clothes stick to her skin and it is kind of uncomfortable but she almost thanks for it when it’s not the water that’s making her feel this way. It’s not uncomfortable when Adora is the one holding her— when she has things to remind her where she actually is.

“I think Perfuma was right”, she starts, “this is kind of nice.”

“How are you feeling?”

“You know that”, she mumbles, even though she knows she should say it. “It’s better than yesterday, I think.”

“That’s really good, you know.”

She can feel Adora relaxing too, chin propped on her shoulder. It’s a recurring thought— that after everything, Adora might need this too. She can see in the way Adora stills stirs in her sleep sometimes and wakes up before she has to, a dagger still too close to the bed. Adora’s not a fan of talking about it most of the time, but she still tries her best in silence, scooting closer instead of pacing around the room when she has a bad dream. There’s so much, she thinks, left to heal and grow, but Catra thinks they’re actually getting pretty good at it— it wouldn’t be them if they didn’t.

Tonight, she’s not really in the mood for talking. She’s tired even though she didn’t do much, even though there’s not much to do after the war. But the nightmares still keep her awake at night and tire her out. She didn’t think she would be able to get in here, after all.

Adora wraps her arms around Catra’s waist. She’s not sleepy, but she lets her eyelids fall as a purr grows on her chest, hands on top of Adora’s. She doesn’t know how much time they spend like this. Here, time stops, and Catra concludes it’s not a Bright Moon thing, but an Adora one. Time used to stop when Adora’s hand brushed on her on the Fright Zone and when she spotted Adora in battle. Time stopped when she gained consciousness and saw Adora’s horrified look as she fell through the dark, and again when Adora opened her eyes, for Catra, and Catra kissed her.

She tenses for a moment, heart beating on her throat. When she opens her eyes, there’s no sight of anything green, no echo of Horde Prime’s voice on her head. She looks at her hands, fingers intertwined with Adora’s, and count them. She’s here, she’s safe. The water is still warmish and there’s still the sweet scent of Perfuma’s gift. Better than it, she leans on Adora’s neck and it’s different after three years, but it’s Adora, and it feels like home. 

“It’s getting cold”, Adora whispers.

“Yeah.”

“You wanna get out?”

“Not really,” she closes her eyes. “I’m kind of comfortable here.”

She feels Adora’s smile against her cheek before Adora moves to kiss her temple. Her lips linger, still, voice low. “That’s good.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me at  
> [tumblr](http://%20angelselectric.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/catriadora) ♡


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